Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-13
THE RIGHTS OF ALIENS.

citizens are not under the protection Of
the United States government, even
though subjected to indignities and per
sonal violence while on United States
soil. This is the plain English, denuded
Of all legal verbiage, of decision re-
Gently rendered by the United States Su-
preme court in case that came up from
California. 1t was the famous Suffer
county case, where one Baldwin, heading
mob of Americans, drove the Chinese
Inhabitants of the mining town of NicO-
laus out of the place, making them board
a steamboat barge plying on the Feather
river and leave the town and county.
The defendent was prosecuted in the
United States Circuit court of the dis
trict of California, under sections 55l9,
550S and $3.50 of the Revised Statutes of
the United States and convicted of enter
ing into conspiracy to deprive "certain
persons (the Chinese of the equal
protection of the laws" etc. The
Supreme court decides that the
language of the Revised Statutes
has reference to citizens of the United
States and not to aliens, which the IN
fortunate CeIestials undoubtedly were.
In the decision the court says:
In the opinion of the court the words Tclti-
zen," as used in Il IS statute, must he given the
same n aping it has in the fourteenth amend
ment Of the constitution, and that to cOnstiIu. e
an Offense which is there provided for the
wror must be done TO one who is a citizen"
in that sense; 1t, therefore, does not apply to
Chinese aliens.
vi regard to Baldwins liability under sec
ton 1886, the court holds that lie force used by
him WAS exeTted against the Chinese people
and not against the govern ment In its effort 60
protect them. Ills course was TO ill-treat the
;hinese and not to hinder or delay the United
States in the execution of any measures to pre-
vent such ill-trt attn ent. This statute therefore
does not apply to this case.
After reviewing carefully In the light OF pre-
vious decisions all the questions raised in the
case, this court reverses the judgment of the
court below, which denied the prisoners petit
ton for release on habeas corpus and remands
the case for further proceedings.
Justices Field and Harlan dissented.
This is an important and far-reaChing
decision, and while 1t is undoubtedly in
accordance with the strict letter Of Consti-
tuti.nsl and international law, it is to be
regretted that the laws precluded any
other decision. All men who believe in
common justice and humanity, and tend
to moderation in their views, coGCede that
in many sections Of this country there is
an unwarranted prejudice against the
Chinese; or, to put it more specifically,
the prejudice lakes an unwaTranted
form. The periodical outbursts of
violence toward Chinese, the hoodlum
brutality displayed against inOfensive
people, have too often brought shame
on this country in the estimation of the
civilized world. We condemn the anti
semetic prosecutions IN portions Of Eu-
rope and wink at equally as disgrsceful
proceedings on our own soil. 1t is to be
feared that this decision of the highest
law tribunal In the land will embOlden
the hoodlum element on the Pacific slope
and elsewhere, and open the door to still
more Uawarranted prosecutions Of Chi
nese than have yet occurred. Right is
right and justice is justice, the world
over, and while our treaty laws are very
rigid, and indeed unfriendly to Chinese,
it is unfortunate that United States au-
thority cannot be legally invoked in be-
half of the principles of common human
ity to every dWeller on our soil, whether
alien or citizen. It is no doubt proper to
circumscribe the legal rights of aliens,
and as for giving them the privileges of
citizenship as freely as has beer done
in the past, It is manifest now
that we have been too liberal
in that respect. But humanity
Is an attribute of civilization, and if our
laws are defective TO the extent that hU-
mainly cannot be guaranteed by law, then
the defects ought 70 be cured. We have
large commercial interests in China, and
thousands Of Americans are IN that COUn-
try, fully protected by its laws. 1t will
be fortunate indeed if the time does not
come when China will be in s position to
retsliate in kind the policy We have pur-
sued toward her people. 1t is not very
popular to bespeak justice, or even fair
treatment, for Chinaman in this coun-
try, but for ali that the truth should be
spoken fearlessly when the ends CT justice
and humanity are involved.